In 13 elementary school classes, written math and reading work was objectively scored for two months; 62 children were identified as very inconsistent in achieving their own baseline means and were randomly assigned to experimental and control conditions. In the experimental condition 24 families wrote and carried out agreements to reward their children whenever they performed at or above their baseline means. On days when this happened, teachers sent home "good news notes." Specific and general effects of intervention were studied in a multiple baseline over classes. Measures of daily performance in target and nontarget areas and of on-task behavior were collected repeatedly for children in experimental, control, and experimental/declined conditions. In experimental condition, in the target area, consistency increased and performance level rose during intervention. The longer the intervention, the more improvement. In the group receiving the longest intervention, there was generalization of improvement to the nontarget area. Children in the experimental condition whose consistency and performance level improved in math were slightly less on task during math classes than before. In the control condition, consistency and performance level fell slightly. Among children whose families declined intervention, consistency fell markedly.